Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-06-09
Modern Torpedo.Boats.

The most noted torpedo-boat build
crs of the world are Messrs. Yarrow
and Messrs. Thornycroft, of London.
Each of these great firms employs from
1000 to 1900 workmen, and can turn
out at least one completed boat per
week. The chief popularity of torpedo
boats is their almost phenomenal speed.
They are built of steel, the different
classes ranging in length from SO feet,
intended for harbor defense, to vessels
of 1865 feet, capable of making an ex-
tended cruise at sea. The Fake,
boat recently built by the Messrs.
Yarrow for the Austro-Hungarian gov
eminent, is 1876 feet long. IA feet wide,
draught of water 5 feet inches. and
attained on the trial trip speed of 253
miles per hour. The armament con-
sists of two Nordenfeldt machine-guns,
carried on deck and two bow-tubes for
dischafging Whitehead torpedoes
The development of torpedo-boats is
now SO rapidly progressing that any
description becomes almost out of date
during the writing. A vessel Just COM
pleted by the Messrs. Yarrow for the
Japanese government is the largest
that has been yet built. 1t is 166 feet
long, 10 feet wide, is provided with
twin screws to give greater facility in
turning, and maintains speed of "a
miles per hour. The engines are pro-
tected by steel deck one inch thick;
and, in addition to two bow-tubes for
discharging torpedoes directly ahead,
two turntables are mounted on deck,
from which torpedoes can be launched
in any desired direction.
Very similar in their construction,
and no less famous for speed and man
euvering qualities, are the boats built
by the Messrs. Thornycroft.
In this country the Messrs. Her.
reshoff, of Bristol, Il. L., have a num-
Der of very fast boats designed to be
used with torpedoes. One of these is
the noted steam-yacht Stiletto, which
may well be taken as q representative
of the American type. The Stiletto is
built of wood with iron braces; length,
"a feet; width, II feet, draught of water,
feet inches, and has attained speed
of twenty-five miles per hour.
A very formidable torpedo-vessel has
been built in recent years by that
greatest of living engineers, Capt. John
Ericsson. 1t has been appropriately
named the Destroyer. Once, at a
critical moment in the history of our
country, as every American well knows,
Capt. Ericsson came to the rescue with
a monitor. Since then his genius,
energies, and mechanical skill have
been devoted to the problem of saving
our great coast cities from destruction
in the event of war with a foreign
naval power. The result of these
years of study and experimenting is
the Destroyer, armed with torpedo
gun which discharges under the water
projectile carrying charge suffi-
cient to sink the largest iron-clad afloat.
The submarine gun is mounted in the
bow of the vessel, near the keel, and is
thus nearly ten feet below the surface
of the water. 1t consists of cylinder
of gun-metal, or steel thirty feet
long, additionally strengthened at the
breech by broad steel rings 1t is
loaded at the breech, the muzzle being
incased by the vessels stem, and closed
by valve to exclude the water. This
valve is opened by suitable levers just
before the gun is discharged, and
closes automatically as the projectile
leaves the muzzle. The proiectile
is steel torpedo, rs feet long, 16
inches in diameter, and carrying a
charge of 800 pounds of gun-cotton.
1t has range of 800 feet during the
first three seconds of its flight. The
form of the torpedo is cylindrical, with
conical point, in which is placed the
percussion lock and firing-pin, and the
explosion takes place upon impact
From '.Modcrn Aggressjce TorpedOes,
ia Scri5ner'S Magazine.